


Of course I do

by AngstManiac



Category: Ranger's Apprentice - John Flanagan
Genre: And probably OOC, Happy Ending, I Will Go Down With This Ship, I’m sorry?, M/M, Not Beta Read, There’s a little bit angst, They’re both very stupid, This takes place in the early years, no I’m not
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-22
Updated: 2020-07-22
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:27:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25446106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngstManiac/pseuds/AngstManiac
Summary: He spoke the words like it explained everything.It really didn’t, but that was the least of Halt’s worries.The two men stared at the remainders of the campfire for a while.-Or, where Halt makes assumptions
Relationships: Crowley Meratyn & Halt O'Carrick, Crowley Meratyn/Halt O'Carrick
Comments: 4
Kudos: 39





	Of course I do

**Author's Note:**

> I really like this ship

‘So you’re off to Araluen again?’ Halt stared at his empty coffee mug. 

‘I’ll come back, don’t worry.’ 

‘Why do you have to go?’ 

‘I need to talk to a baron. The prince wants me to be there.’ He spoke the words like it explained everything. 

It really didn’t, but that was the least of Halt’s worries. 

The two men stared at the remainders of the campfire for a while. 

‘I hope he’ll make you happy.’ Halt was pleased to hear his own voice come out normal and not shaky like he feared it would. His eyes where fixated on Crowley as he came to terms with the fact that Crowley liked Duncan. 

Duncan, the prince charming in shining armour. Duncan, the more nice, more extroverted crown prince. Duncan, the better choice than Halt. 

Crowley nodded. ‘Yeah, he’ll make sure that the baron will be good to their ranger and-‘ the redhead met Halt’s eyes as he cut his sentence short. 

And Halt cursed whatever deity was looking down at him for making his eyes water. 

Halt knew he should be happy for his friends.  
But there was this selfish part of him that couldn’t get over the fact that he would never wake up with Crowley next to him, that he would never get to kiss the ranger, that he would never hear the man say “i love you” in any way more than friends. 

It hurt. 

‘Halt.’ Crowley interrupted the silence. His brows furrowed and the corner of his mouth was slightly quirked upwards. 

Halt looked away, cursing himself for falling for the ginger.  
Crowley was smart, he probably figured it out and damnit, he’ll hate him and leave him and why can’t he just keep his emotions in check?

‘Halt.’ Crowley spoke again. ‘Look at me.’ 

It was a command, Halt hated commands. But he still found himself looking at his companion again. 

‘You- Are you- You aren’t implying what I think you’re implying, right?’ 

The stumble in words caught Halt completely off guard.  
Crowley, the charmer, the man always so quick with words was shocked about something that was just a fact. 

Halt suddenly felt doubt and hope consume his mind. What if he was wrong? What if he had a change? Surely the fact that Crowley was confused about it meant that it wasn’t true

He quickly dismissed those thoughts. He heard them talk didn’t he? And even if he wrong, Crowley would never like someone so pessimistic like he was. 

‘Halt.’ 

Gods, here comes the sympathy. 

But the next words the redhead spoke made his mind short circuit. 

‘What on this godsforsaken world made you think that me and Duncan where a thing?’ 

The Hibernian was speechless for a moment. He had heard them, hadn’t he? The way Crowley spoke with so much vulnerability. Everything about it was so...  
‘But you confessed to him!’ 

The face Crowley made would be funny if Halt wasn’t desperately scrambling his thoughts together. 

‘Last month, after the sun had set. You went to talk to Duncan. And I followed.’  
His face flushed red as he remembered the way he sneaked after his friend. 

He initially didn’t follow, but his interest got peaked after he heard Crowley quickly talk to Duncan. He just saw them leave together and decided to trail them. 

‘Why-‘ 

‘Not important right now. But I followed you and overheard the conversation.’ 

The two men had stopped at a small clearing. Halt stayed between a bush and a tree. Completely trusting his cloak as he blended in with the shadows. Crowley had a natural loud voice, so the things spoken weren’t hard to understand

Crowley scoffed. ‘“Overheard”, sure.’ 

Halt ignored him. ‘You told him that you liked someone and you then went on to describe him. It was obvious that you where talking about Duncan.’ 

It completely crushed Halt. His crush was describing someone he could never compete with. 

‘And then?’ 

Halt just shrugged. ‘I left because I didn’t want to intrude your confession.’ He mumbled. Eyes cast downwards. 

He was practically running the entire way back. Feeling nothing but self pity and despair. 

If he did look at Crowley he would have seen the man looking at Halt like the hibernian grew a second head. 

‘Okay, lets step back a second. What about the person described screamed “Duncan” to you?’ 

The question made Halt irritated. What was Crowley trying to achieve with this?  
But the curiosity in his voice sounded genuine enough to answer. 

‘He’s “perfect”, the “funniest man alive”, he “never fails to make my day perfect”, and he’s “a dumb idiot that I can’t stop loving”.’

Crowley chuckled,eyes still on the cold campfire. There was a somber glint present in them.  
‘The fact that you think that “a dumb idiot” describes the crown prince could get you banished you know.’  
His smile quickly faded when he saw Halts face. He didn’t even know Halt could show so many emotions. 

‘Halt, you idiot. I was describing you.’ 

If Crowley’s earlier remarks short circuited his brain, this sentence just completely fried the poor thing. ‘Wh- what? But, how? Why? Huh?’  
Halt was completely convinced this was a dream. It had to be, there was literally no other way. 

‘You’re literally so perfect it physically hurts me to look at you sometimes.’ Crowley went on without mercy.  
‘I’ve laughed more with you these past times than my entire life.’  
Even if it was an over exaggeration, it still made Halt choke up.  
‘You make everyday perfect by just existing.’  
Halt considered jumping in nearest lake to make his face cool down, but decided against it. He didn’t want his clothes to get wet. 

It was silent for a while. Halt finally managed to get ahold of himself as he frowned. ‘You called me a dumb idiot.’ 

‘You drink your coffee with honey.’ He spoke the words like it explained everything. 

It really didn’t, but that was the least of Halt’s worries. 

The two men stared at the remainders of the campfire for a while. 

‘So, you like me?’ It was barely louder than a whisper.  
‘Do you like me too?’ Crowley’s voice sounded weak. 

‘I thought you where supposed to be the smart one. Of course I do.’

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed reading that mess!


End file.
